Police probing Frosty the Snowman slashing

Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Police in Tennessee are searching for a seasonal slasher caught on video slicing a hotel's inflatable Frosty the Snowman across the stomach.

Security camera footage from the Tru by Hilton hotel in Pigeon Forge shows the unidentified suspect walking up to the large Frosty just before 1:30 a.m. Friday and slicing a gash in the inflatable's stomach, causing it to go limp.

Hotel manager Earl Salyers said he has a theory about the crime.

"I think it's just kids thinking they're being funny," Salyers told the Knoxville News Sentinel. "It happened around 1:23 in the morning. I'd like to think most adults would not be out driving around slashing inflatables at that hour, but I could be wrong."

Melissa Keith, another manager at the hotel, said workers were able to save Frosty by taping his wound shut.

"It looked like he aspirated and fell to the floor, to the ground. We discovered it the next morning. We did try to revive him. There was a bit of surgery, as you can see, but he seems to be recovering well," Keith told WATE-TV.

Police said they taking the incident seriously.

"It's vandalism and it's their property. Somebody had to pay for it, so we take that serious," Pigeon Forge Police Chief Richard Catlett said.